7 secrets behind The Great British Sewing Bee: ‘It’s harder than you think’-Charlotte Manning and Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

We’ve discovered the behind-the-scenes secrets of The Great British Sewing Bee (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack)

The Great British Sewing Bee has returned to our screens for its 10th season, with a new batch of hopefuls trying to sew their way to victory.

The heartwarming competition has become a staple on the BBC since beginning in 2013, and follows a fairly similar format to The Great British Bake Off, where 10 creatives compete to impress judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young, hoping to be crowned Britain’s most sensational sewer.

The competition filters down as the initial set of contestants become just four in the finale, as they’re put through their paces in a series of challenges, with each episode featuring a pattern challenge, made to measure challenge and transformation challenge, all fitting an overall theme that test the budding sewers’ skills.

And while viewers are already sold on the beloved programme, there’s some things you may not know about what it’s actually like to take part.

We caught up with 2022 winner Annie about all the behind-the-scenes secrets of the fan-favourite show.

Annie was crowned winner in 2022 (Picture: BBC)

The application process is pretty lengthy

Annie explained how the beginning of the process was pretty straightforward, involving a questionnaire and video explaining why she wanted to take part.

But due to applying during Covid, things were a little more complicated when it got to the later stages, as she shared: ’It was actually a few Zoom calls, we had to make something at home, just while we were chatting to them.

‘I guess they were just trying to get a feel for how you are chatting and sewing but it’s really hard! I don’t think you realise when you’re watching, it is actually quite hard to do both things at the same time.’

Sewers get plenty of time to prepare their makes beforehand

Annie had the summer before filming to prepare for the competition (Picture: BBC)

Annie found out she was successful around June 2021, meaning she had the summer to prepare before going into filming in September.

Detailing her process, she said: ’It was a case of the first few weeks planning exactly what you’re gonna do for made to measure and obviously running it past [production].’

But due to the fact sewers can end up staying in the competition for a couple of months, it’s difficult to prep for how much they’re likely to develop over the course of their time on the show.

‘Obviously trying to find fabrics and things that you want to use was quite hard actually, because I think during the process you develop so much that to do it, almost plan it before it. It was kind of hard,’ the champion told us.

But they don’t always know exactly what’s in store

The competition is now hosted by Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack)

The competitors would be given an overarching theme to stick to each week in order to help them come up with ideas beforehand.

However, this didn’t necessarily mean the sewers were prepared for the tasks delivered to them by Patrick and Esme on the day.

Annie shared: ‘For example, for sports week, I was practising swimwear, you just don’t know! It was a bit of guesswork really, sometimes you’d been lucky and would have practiced what was coming up, and sometimes it was really hard.’

Filming days were, unsurprisingly, quite long

Sara Pascoe previously hosted the BBC show (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/James Stack)

Annie recalled having lengthy days filming, which was particularly challenging given the fact she was pregnant during her stint.

She explained: ‘Obviously for me, I was pregnant at the time, but you just sucked into this world, so it kind of flies by, really? When it ended, I was shellshocked for a couple of weeks. It was quite intense.’

However, things did get shorter as the competition started to narrow down, as she joked: ‘That was the only plus point of everything leaving!’

The sewers all became really close despite being competitors

Annie filmed during Covid restrictions, but still grew close to the cast (Picture: BBC)

During Annie’s season on the show, the competitors didn’t get much of an outlet outside of the intense world of sewing for a couple of months, due to Covid restrictions still rife while filming.

They weren’t really able to go ‘to the shops’ or ‘out for drinks’ amid the process, ‘so we just had each other’, Annie said, recalling how it made them closer than ever.

She added: ‘I mean [2022 contestant] Cristian just had the most mental stories. I think we made friends for life because we were pushed into this little bubble, which is really nice.

‘We really helped each other. I mean, it was a competition but I think we all were there for emotional support!’

Thankfully though, after making it right to the end of the process, the finalists were able to come out of the bubble they’d been in the with some of the production team.

‘On the last day we essentially came out of the bubble,’ Annie commented. ‘When our parents and partners came up at the end, we could then not be in a bubble so, that was nice.

‘We had a bit of a party and could just relax with everyone. Before that, we had to have separate toilets, separate everything! Coming out the bubbles was really nice.’

Patrick and Esme are as divine as you’d hope off-screen too

The pair are just as they seem in real life (Picture: BBC/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon)

The brilliant judges, Patrick and Esme, arguably make the show, and fans have fallen in love with them just like they fall in love with the new sewers each year.

Annie revealed the pair were ‘so sweet’ and told of how Esme was always willing to recommend new designers and ideas to contestants.

‘I remember when I first did my African wax print, Esme came and spoke to me about some designers that she knew, who she really liked, that use the same kind of fabrics, so they were just so lovely,’ she said.

They didn’t get to spend much time together away from the studio due to Covid, but the sewer added: ‘Obviously, when the cameras weren’t rolling, we had this banter and I was just a nice vibe. I think they’ve done it so many times that they put our minds at rest.’

It’s harder than it looks! (Picture: BBC)

The sewers get their beautiful pieces back after the show’s come to an end

While Annie told us at the time she ‘hadn’t got pieces back yet’, she outlined how production sends all their designs back to everyone after the competition.

‘I can’t wait to see some of the pieces that I definitely don’t want to see again,’ she laughed. ‘Some of them, I’m really excited to get back, which is cool.

‘They send them all back and you can do whatever you want with them then. I know a couple of people have refixed stuff and done bits so they can wear them, but I’m excited to actually see the things because it was so long ago things I can’t even remember half the things I’ve made!’

The Great British Sewing Bee airs at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer tonight.

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